Happy New Year

I already did my reflections on 2010 post a week before. What about the resolutions one? I want to look back on my 2010 resolutions post for a minute here. It should be highly entertaining. Like laugh at me funny.

Here it is

1. Bible Reading: I started out well, and happy to say ending well. In the middle of the year with 3 months of travel from May to October, it didn't really go well at all.

2.Floss: Probably did that twice in 2010. The aim was 4 times a week. That is what is called a stellar failure

3. Prenatal Vitamins: Actually, this takes the cake. I never even bought it from the store. Forget about eating it.

4. Blog 100 posts: Actually, including this it will be 57, so it was not too bad. Not the goal, but at least not an epic failure. And as a side note, can I say I am so so glad that I blogged monthly Neil updates. I already find myself forgetting the details and it is so neat for me to go back and read it.

5. Water Intake: I think for about 50% of the time, I managed around a bottle a day.

6. I have to laugh as I re-read the original post. I had forgotten about 6 and 7 and jumped from point 5 to 8. Maybe one of the resolutions this year should be to learn from 1 to 10?

8. Breakfast: Also, a very good failure. Maybe 20 times this year, if I am generous. Nowhere near everyday.

9. Stretching. Nope, must have done it 3 times or 5 tops.

10. Walk: Picked up towards the end, but what with the injuries and all that, Memaw has been taking it easy, kids.

11. Ladies Bible Study: Didn't go even once. I can't call it a failure as it was a conscious decision I had to take as Neil grew older. We have a very small chapel, and if I go for it, either myself or some lady has to take him out so we can do the study. There really is no childcare as such, and I didn't want to burden anyone. And they started doing combined studies which honestly I don't enjoy as much.

12. Read to baby: Finally, a success to report. Maybe because it was technically not a NYR, but something I was already doing? I read to him almost everyday and multiple times most days.

So, with the overall stellar failure of 2010 resolutions, I really shouldn't even think of any for 2011, right? But I did. I do have goals for 2011. Maybe if I call them goals instead of resolutions, I might do better.

I already have ours listed on the calendar. One of the main ones is I have to prepare for an exam which I am planning to take some time in April/May. And we have to put in a lot of effort combined towards our business. Pretty much that are the goals for 2011. And then there are some sundry little personal stuff that I need to work on. But I guess I don't need to humiliate myself (like I just did) by putting those here.

I leave with you two pictures. One at the beginning of the year and one towards the end. Nothing reminds me how fast time flies as this:

January 2010



December 2010




Wish all of you a wonderful 2011.

Still Sick

We are all still sick here. I am feeling slightly better. Hubby has a fever now and Neilu still has the cold. Today he vomitted everything he had for lunch and was very cranky afterward. We are just feeding him warm fluids and oranges now. He and I have the same thing. I don't know about hubs, he seems to have slightly different symptoms.

Anyway, nothing much to write today except all of us pretty much slept or was lying down most of the day. So I will leave you with a picture of Neilu and Santa at the park.



As you can see from the picture, he was obviously thrilled :)



And then the three of us.

In sickness and health

We are a sick, happy family. Well, we are definitely sick, but not all that happy. All three of us have been hit with the bug. Of course, Neilu doesn't seem to be bothered by it, he keeps running around like it is all the same. But he is sneezing a lot and has a bad cold. Hubs and I have a horrible throat ache and I threw up three times today.

It is kind of funny. Pre-Neil, if I were this sick, I would take off from work and snuggle under the blanket and take rest the whole day. Now, being a mom, I dont have those luxuries. I tried to take a nap while he was napping, but, the morning nap didn't work out as he woke up as soon as my head hit the pillow. In the afternoon, I had some Nyquil, and was so knocked out that I was unable to wake up when he did. Thankfully, R stepped up and offered to look after him for an hour. He was in bad shape after that one hour, but I felt slightly better. I went to the store to get some Benadryl and when I came back, R told me that Neilu had cried himself to sleep. Poor kid. But then, hubs was also exhausted. I wish this throat ache would go away. Out of all the flu like symptoms (cough, cold, fever, body ache), I think throat ache is the worst. Hopefully, we will all wake up better tomorrow.

It is still so cold here. And it is not like there is any pretty snow to look at. Just cold. Even last year, it was not so cold so early in the winter. I am glad we didn't travel anywhere, but just stayed put at home this season.

It is getting late now and I am going to take some Nyquil and hit the bed. I hope Neil doesn't wake up and cry in the night. I am pretty sure that I am not going to hear it if he does. Sweet little boy, I sure feel bad for him. Hope you all have a sickess free end of the year.

Reflections on a Christmas Night

First of all, Merry Christmas to you all.

I had a wonderful two days. R and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on the 24th. He is a very very busy man, but he took off on the 24th and 25th and we just had a great time. I got a lot of gifts, but the best gift of all was some great time together. Christmas Eve was with our friends here and that was really nice too. It refreshed me so much to spend some family time.

I had decided not to do a tree this time, but I finally caved in and put it up 2 weeks before Christmas. For whatever reason, it really lifted my mood and cheered me up. I was in a down mood for a lot of days leading up to that, but the lit tree really made a difference.I didn't decorate as much as usual, but it was nice to do something.

R and I don't usually buy gifts for each other for Christmas, but Neil got a toy kitchen, a rock, roll and ride trike, a Duplos set and clothes. Okay, so he only really got the toy kitchen, the rest were all stuff that had not been opened before and which we decided to open today. At any rate, he didn't care. I got a bunch of really cute clothes from Gymboree totalling $216 for $36. Most of the stuff I bought is 2T and above. All I know is if God blesses us with another boy, he won't need a thing. For that matter, even if it is a girl, she won't need a thing until 1 year old. Most of what we have is gender neutral up till 1 year old.

Christmas day is winding to a close now and I can't help but reflect on the last year. I know that post is supposed to go up in a week, but I am just feeling reflective now. ha. It has been a good year. The Lord has been good to us and blessed us as a family. Personally, so many milestones for me. I quit my full time job for which I had trained 6 years of my life. It was not a very easy decision, but it was not as hard as I thought it would be, either. I had to pray a lot for God's guidance on that one. There was a lot of going back and forth until the decision became final on my part in October. I don't want to go into any details here, but it ended up with me feeling a bit sad on some counts. But I really enjoy being home. With my husband's business, and all the housework, and the little one, there is hardly any leftover time. Leaving my job has been a step of faith for us as a family as me being home full time was not something we had really planned on doing. But we all feel it has blessed our family collectively.

R has been traveling a LOT this year. Before, I used to wonder how I would manage Neil without his help. I remember the time he was born, I was terrified to travel with him by myself. Then I took him by myself on a 24 hour flight to India. So, I have improved in this whole motherhood thing. :) The traveling was insane for him this year and looks like we are having a similar year coming up.

I had two bouts of sickness and through it all, Gods grace was amazing. I am not saying that I want to get sick or experience pain like that. I hate being in pain. But there was purpose in that. Experiencing God's mercy, love of family, brokeness, for that I am grateful. Just as hard as the the pain was the feeling of inadequacy, helplessly watching others do what I felt I should be doing, feeling that I was not contributing. It was a good learning experience. I am praying for a healthier 2011.

The rain is falling outside and I am all warm and cosy here. Both my men are fast asleep upstairs. It has been half an hour now since I started writing. There is a glow from the Christmas tree that is warming my heart. I see the ornament of a little angel with "Believe" written on it. It is for the memory of a little angel that all but me has possibly forgotten. But that word is a reminder and a promise.

Believe. For I have seen the goodness of the Lord. Believe. For with God all things are possible.

I am humbly grateful.

Daily Dish

I haven't updated in a few days. Plus, I started this earlier and now I have some kind of block and am unable to think of anything coherent to say. That means it is going to be a list.

Neil slept for 2.5 hours today. And we actually woke him up. Mainly because I did not want him to oversleep and stay awake in the night. He slept for half an hour in the morning as well.

I ordered Christmas cards finally and I used his naptime to compile addresses. Lots of work ahead, stuffing, stamping, and sending out. But I love doing that.

It is so cold here now, we are expecting 26 degrees tonight. Tell you what, there is a reason I moved to FL and it is not the cold. I do not like cold weather.

We had a guy from our utility company do the energy efficiency check at our house. He says the ducts have some leaks and the insulation in the attic is low. He gave us some information to look at. It costs on an average around $400 to repair the ducts. And the utility company will cover $150.

Hubby and I are completing 5 years of marriage this month. And on the same day, my parents are celbrating 40 years of marriage. I have no idea what to get him. If I ask, he says nothing, so in all possibility that is what he is going to get. Unless you can leave me some suggestions.

There is going to be a change at this lil ole' blog come new year. I will unveil that to my 2 loyal readers in a few days.

Neil helps me unload the dishwasher now. I figured he spends all his day in the kitchen with me, might as well utilize him. He is a good helper.

I cooked a lot today.

I pretty much didn't do anything else at all.

There is a strong wind outside, but in here it is cosy and warm. I feel very thankful for good food, and heat right now.

I would be even more thankful if someone brought me some socks.

I find it very difficult to move after eating so much.

That will be all. Thank you very much.

Christmas (non) cheer

It is the most craziest time of the year. With those holiday greetings and gay, happy meetings when friends come to call. Oh wait, that is not how the song goes?

Well, it should.

Inevitably, this ends up being so crazy busy always. I really have no explanation this year. I don't have a tree up, there is not one shred of decoration up in our house, no one is coming to visit. So it really should be very easy. But it is not. There are a lot of other things going on that is just making it crazy. Seems to me everywhere I turn there is work. Living room, kitchen, laundry room, garage, office work, and then I get into the car to get groceries and the maintenance required light is on in the car. As Anne says in Anne of Green Gables, the stars in their courses is fighting against me. It is a conspiracy. I was just so overwhelmed, I just sat in the car wishing I didn't have to get out. R is crazy busy. His colleague at work is out on paternity leave and so he has his share of the work as well. Poor thing is so unbelievably busy that even with working weekends he is unable to catch up. I was feeling so all over the place with a vague feeling of doom that there are tons of things to be done and that I was dropping balls left and right, I decided I should make list. The list which is growing out of control already has 45 items. And some of the items in the list is driving me crazy, such as finding a d/l cable for the cell phone. Where in the world is that thing? Argh.

I tackled around 3 items and I am already behind on so many things. I feel most days I am just playing catch up and not really making any progress. I mean with the baby, laundry, cooking and keeping the house livable, it is not like I have a lot of "free time." One thing I am glad about is that I am able to spend some time in the morning with God's word and that really helps. I only wish there were more hours in a day.

It is funny that of all the things to feel guilty about, I feel really bad I didn't put up a tree this year. I mean, I feel I am denying Neil something. Why such crazy thoughts? No idea. That is all I need. On top of all the crazy stuff going on, some guilt as well. Oh, and I really dislike this horrible cold spell. I am unable to get out running and when I do go out to the store, the cold gives me a headache.

Yes, I am a spoilt warm weather girl, why do you ask?

I just decided that from tomorrow on, I am going to keep an hourly diary that I will know how I am spending my time daily. Maybe I can catch some times that I find myself not doing anything productive and get back on track that way.

To bed now.

Running

Running is like giving birth.

This is my conclusion after starting the c25k today. I guess if I am coming to such conclusions after one day of 20 minute running, it does not bode well for me. Also, I suspect I am not in shape at all. Unless you count round as a shape for humans.

In that case, I am in the best shape of my life.

I announced my intention of doing this program and my dear husband bought me some expensive running shoes. I have all kinds of health issues and he wanted to be sure that I get good shoes that support me in my efforts. He says you cannot put a price on health. Actually I can. I just have to calculate the total amount in the two hospital bills and the cost of my running shoes.

All this to say that the shoes kept me going long after I would have normally given up. It was so cold too. R scolded me for going out in this cold (with the baby too). Poor Neilu, his hands were really cold by the time we came back. I was running, so I was sweating and didn't feel it too much. But poor baby must have been cold, sitting in the stroller. I had bundled him up in layers, but I hadn't put mittens on him. The shoes are really cool though. I just didn't feel like getting out of it even after I came home.

I haven't explained why running is like giving birth. You see, this c25k program is such that you have to jog for 60 seconds and then walk for 90 seconds. The 1 minute jog feels never ending while the 1.5 min walk goes all too fast. Those who have given birth know that I am talking about the contractions and the respite between them. Maybe it was the cold, or my fitness level, but I really struggled. But I am not going to give up. I will try when it is less cold and maybe I will struggle less.

I am hoping to finish the program. For the sake of recordkeeping, this is my weight as of today morning: 114 lbs. My waist line after dinner today (much harder to write in public): 34 inches. I don't really have a goal. Ideally I would like to be 105 lbs and have a waistline of 30 inches. But that ship has sailed after I first saw the double red line on a home pregnancy test. So, not to be distracted by numbers, I am not setting a number goal. I just want to be healthier. I won't elaborate here for fear of sounding like a Memaw, but I do have a bunch of health issues and I want to be in better shape to take care of my family.

Today also was Neilu's 15 month appointment and he is doing very well by God's grace. He howled the entire time the doctor was in the room. Not only is his stranger anxiety not reducing, it is getting worse I feel. Poor doctor, he just came into the room, didn't even do anything and he howled. He actually cried less for the shot as the nurse came and went out real fast. And it was so funny, the receptionist was talking to him when he were going out and he was going on in a scolding tone to her. Everyone was laughing. It sounded exactly like "You are all smiles and laughs, but you are one of them also. Don't try and convince me otherwise." I think this is the most fun age ever. He makes me laugh everyday.

Just like his daddy.

Praying without Words

I am so excited today. My heart which had been heavy over the past few days is filled with joy. Recently, my uncle had an angioplasty done. At the end of the procedure he had a stroke, which happens less than 1% of the time. A lot of people around the world prayed and he kept getting better. The doctors thought it was a miracle because at his age, it was quite a quick recovery. Two days before, we were told that almost everything got better, but he lost his eyesight. When I first heard it, it was like a ton of bricks hitting me. I have always believed one of the hardest things to face is loss of eyesight. Twice before in my life I had a condition where I lost sight from one eye for two days and that was hard. My dad has only vision from one eye and I know he struggles with that. The personal experiences has really made me appreciate just how valuable eyesight is.

I was praying a lot for my uncle throughout the day when I first heard about the stroke, but the eyesight news just got me down. I hardly could pray out loud, but just sat mutely and prayed without words. Anyway, we got the news today that he got 75% of his eyesight back. And they are hoping it will come back fully. What a mighty God we serve!

I have this little poem hanging in my room.

I am not alone...

Sometimes I don't know how to pray. My words come
haltingly and I feel they don't get past the ceiling.
What a comfort
to know that the Spirit of God
is interceding for me even then.
While I may be struggling to pray, he is interceding for me
and telling God things
which cannot be expressed
in words.

Our day

R was out on business trip since Tuesday. It is so good to have him back. As a so-good-to-have-you-back-home, I made plantain fry. It didn't come out great, so it was more like, so-good-you-are-back honey and I made some sucky food, please enjoy. Yesterday Neilu slept from 8:30pm to 8:30am which was a miracle and I had a smile on my face the whole day. Did some home chores in the morning and in the afternoon, a friend and I went shoppig for handbags. Our anniversary is coming up and I had asked for a handbag as a gift from hubs. So, we went shopping got 2 bags I liked and I gave it to R and then on our anniversary he will give it to me. It is a complex process, our gift giving.

Neilu howled most of the time he was in the store, except for the time he was flirting with all the salesgirls. As soon as we got out, he would stop and then start again as soon as we got in another store. It was like a switch being turned on and off. Good thing he is cute. That is all I have to say. He doesn't howl as much at grocery stores anymore. I guess dude knows where the food is.

I was dropping my friend off at a 7-11 where her husband picked her up. I then stopped there to fill some gas. While I was filling gas, a huge, African American guy approached me and said he needed help as his car broke down. I said to ask help at the store. (As a sidenote, R had told me before never to help anyone on the road (man or woman) if I am by myself. It is one of the few things he expects me to obey in our marriage.) He said all he needs is 1 or 2 gallon of gas to get his car started. I was almost tempted, but I remembered what R told me and said, sorry, can't help you. He then said all I have to do is turn the nozzle around and I am the nearest car etc etc. Thankfully, my car had filled up then and I drove away. As soon as I got out of the station and turned around, he and the car was gone. Wonder what that was all about. It was a bit disconcerting. I hate saying no, but am very loathe to take risks as well.

We came back and I made some dinner and tidied up the place a bit and waited for hubs to come home. When he was at the door, Neilu just ran to him smiling and laughing and it was just so sweet to see. And he kept babbling. Probably complaining about his mommy taking him shopping half day. R gave him a bath and put him to sleep while I set the table. I took out the good china, lit some candles, and put a new tablecloth to make the ordinary meal just a little special.

So, it was a really nice day all in all. The best part being that our little family is together again.

A Bizzare Experience

I had a really bizzare experience today.

Let me start at the beginning.

Last week, hubs and I were walking around in the mall and we came across a bargain priced book section in Barnes and Noble. I picked up a Jefferey Archer as I can never really say no to him. Plus, the bargain price? There was no way I could win that one. I had never heard of that particular title before, but I had enough faith in him as he has never disappointed me before. True to form, it turned out to be a really good read, but I was trying not to binge. So I stuck to just couple of chapters a day. It also helped that I was really too busy to do any reading up until yesterday. Yesterday night I was casually reading my two chapters and then could.not.put.it.down. Just kept reading and reading and reading. It was very reminiscent of the teenage years when I was supposed to be studying, but would stay up late reading. Anyway, it was 3:33am when I went to sleep. It was all fine and dandy when I was in 6th grade and I could sleep through the biology class to compensate staying up till 3:33am. Not the same story when my precious bundle of high energy early riser joy would be sure to wake me up at the unholy time of 6:30am. He has very good getting-you-out-of-bed tactics too. He would stand up in the bed and then tumble on you. If you haven't had 24 pounds falling on you while you are in an early morning daze, why, you haven't really lived.

I stumbled out of bed, changed him, and took him down. I fed him a banana (I think) and slowly came to life. He showed signs of sleepiness around 10:15 and I put him down for a nap in his stroller. He slept off and I came up, did some stuff and had some time reading God's word and praying. I haven't had such a long, uninterrupted quiet time in a while and it really refreshed me. By 11, I decided I should get a nap as I knew I was going to be crazy tired in the afternoon. He only takes one nap now and I took the opportunity and lay down.

Ok, now here is the bizzare stuff.

I must have gone to sleep immediately. All I remember is I woke up very suddenly and jerkily. I looked next to me and didn't see Neil. I immediately panicked and ran to the bathroom, glancing at his bed on the way. (Bathroom is a prohibited area and consequently where he makes a beeline to). He wasn't there and I just cannot explain this, I started calling out his name loudly and was almost sobbing it. I thought he fell into the toilet, fell down the stairs and hit his head and I felt all weak. Suddenly, I heard him cry (possibly from all my yelling) and I remembered I had put him to sleep in the stroller, it was morning and he was fine. The whole episode of panic lasted probably 30-45 seconds. But the shaking didn't subside for another 2-3 minutes. I felt too weak to actually pick him up, so I knelt next to him in the stroller and put my arm around him. I sat there until I was calm and then everything was fine.

I felt so bizzare, I had never had an experience like this and don't care to have another one ever again. I am thinking it could be the lack of sleep that caused it. Unless you can suggest an alternative explanation.

Except tell me I am a tad crazy.

What is the point in stating the obvious, afterall?

Weekend Recap

It was cold here today for this time of the year. Sometimes I harbour romantic thoughts of living in colder climates. When the slightest cold hits around these parts, that is when I embrace my inner wimpiness and be very happy about living here. It is difficult with a child also, when it gets cold. Especially if said child would rather be taken to the torture chamber than put some clothes on. He is happiest if he runs around in a diaper. My mom told me that I was the same way. I would be running around in my petticoat outside the house even when I was 10 years old. (Although it is to be noted that very endowed adults here walk around in much less). Oh, the sins of the parents!

Today we had worship and had some missionaries speaking at the chapel. I was supposed to bring refreshments and no one told me about the overage of guests. I had a heart attack when I walked in and saw 42 people instead of the usual 16. Anyway, we managed. The message was great and the even better part was that Neil slept through. Both of us were able to sit in and that was an answered prayer. This was a ministry we support and I really wanted to hear him. Last week, we tried to stay and a friend took him to the nursery. The sanctuary door was closed, and way down the hallway, the nursery door was also closed, yet we could hear him screaming. Finally, my husband went to get him. His separation anxiety is the worst. He will not allow anyone, especially other women to take care of him. He does better with men.

Yesterday, I had some Mommy time. It was so nice not to wrangle the car seat, baby, diaper bag, stroller, food, drink etc. I went to the mall, looked around, bought some stuff, did some errands etc. It was just really nice. I was really looking forward to seeing Neil by the end of it. I was smiling just thinking of his face. Anyway, when I got home, he was fast asleep and I got to have some lunch also. I barely ever get to go out without Neil, so I savored every moment of it. Totally gave me the energy for the next 8 hours.

So, I bought a red and brown sweater, pants and a couple of tops. So I modeled all that for my husband and he said the red is perfect and brown is loose. I thought red is too tight, brown is comfy. I figured what does he know and put the red for returning. Later that evening a friend, who is the queen of all things fashion, came and said the exact same thing hubby said. I was mortified that I have a worse sense of style than my husband. I realized I have reached a new low.

Friday, DH has meetings till 8 pm and so we don't have fun Friday evenings to ourselves anymore. So I took Neil with me and we went shopping. First stop was Ross where I had to return a table cloth that wouldn't fit. Next was Target where I bought a gift for an upcoming birthdday. There I realized Neil had lost one shoe. When we got back from the store, I realized, he had managed to get his other shoe off too. That was in the cart though, and I rescued that one. (Although for what purpose, I am not sure). Then we stopped at BabiesRus for a sippy cup and when I opened the door, he had his one sock off. I put it back, we went to the store, got that and for kicks, I asked if they have turtleneck shirts for him. And they had. At $10 a piece. I wasn't happy to fork over $20 (I needed two colors), and was going to walk away, when I just picked and decided to find out the price anyway. Turns out, it was only $5 a piece. Why would they not advertise 50% off or something? To theink, they almost got away from me! I am not exactly sure why I shared all of this useless information with you, but I just can't seem to stop talking. You will have to excuse me. You might understand my excitement maybe if you knew that I had been searching for turtleneck shirts for him for a while and Old Navy, and Children's Place didn't carry them and I badly wanted them for a picture. Finally, went to Chipotle to get my dinner and then we headed home. By the time we reached Chipotle, he had both his socks off and was sitting and biting his feet. When I left out with Neil, the plan was to let him play at the play area in the mall. Instead, poor guy had to travel town for returns and purchases. Good thing he is too young to have any idea.

I pretty much gave a weekend recap in the reverse order. If you hung in there with me through riveting information about returns, and turtlenecks and sales, bless your heart! I will soon be back with more information like this. That is the promise of my blog. You can depend on it.

No point taken

It is hard to keep up with this blogging thing. When I am in the mood, I don't have time. When I have time, like I do right now, my mind is a blank slate. So I have to warn you at the outset that this post is going to be a big rambly no point nothingness. I am not even going to pretend there is a point.

First off, I can't believe how fast Neil is growing. I mean he is 14 months old now. He hasn't started walking regularly yet. He did take independent steps 4 days before his first birthday, and he has taken lots of steps since then, but he still moves around by crawling most of the time. He is venturing more and more by taking steps, but he still hasn't developed complete confidence. My mother and mother-in-law keeps asking every phone call, is he walking, is he walking? Since he is active and healthy I guess they need to worry about something. He has the most fun personality and I love being with him. Except that he wears me out by evening. Morning when he wakes up he grabs my face and showers me with kisses. It is pretty much the best part of my day. R is so busy, it is unbelievable. He works from home, but I haven't really seen him in 2 days. I am only slightly kidding. That is how busy he is. I hope it slows down a little soon.

There are some things on my mind which bothers me at times and one of it is the house situation. I like our house, it is a great neighborhood, and the house is actually cosy, but I have been struggling with the space issue. R works from home for his regular job, plus he has a home business. So, one room is pretty much full of things relating to that. One room is Neil's which was also the guest bedroom, and we really want to move him there. Currently, our bedroom is so crowded with the rocking chair, crib, dresser and our bed. Literally we bump into stuff moving around. After both our parents left after their visit, we moved the guest bed into the office and made it into guest bed/office/library. Now it is really congested and it is a really tiny room to begin with. R gets a backache working there and so he moves all his stuff into the living room and works from there. So it gets cluttered very fast and that bugs me. Plus, when he is working there, Neil and I can't be down as R needs to be on calls pretty much the entire time. All of Neil's toys are in a corner of the living room and that is his play area. The high chair is in the dining room. It is difficult to keep him entertained upstairs as his favorite thing about going upstairs is that he can slide down the stairs.

We are not at a point where we can move as there is no way we can sell this house in this market. Another aspect about the house is the school district. We were young(er), stupid, childless and clueless when we bought the house. So we had no idea how bad the schools were. Now that we know, (and I was told by a lady who is a teacher in the elementary school!) and Neil is growing up, it is getting to be more of an issue. We never thought much about school when we bought the house mainly as we were planning to send our children to private school. But we never thought if there were any good private schools in the area. Now we know. Also, there is the aspect of expense of private schools for multiple children. One is okay. But it will get unaffordable if we have more than two. So, all these things sometimes unsettle me. I know I am borrowing trouble and I really don't have much to complain about, but I am just being honset here on this blog. This is something I think about a lot, so it just came out.

I started writing a while back, watched a movie in between and now it is the next say. So I am turning in. I have to get up early tomorrow as my baby does not know the concept of Saturday being sleeping-in day. :)

7 Quick Takes

I am participating in 7 quick takes over at Conversion Diary. I just seem to blog better in numbered or bullet points. What can I say?

1. We decided today that we are not going anywhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I am really relieved. I love traveling, don't get me wrong, but traveling with a small child, it is more work and less vacation. I am happy and looking forward to spending both holidays at home.

2. R has been working crazy hours and has been traveling a lot. The first week he was gone, Neil got sick and was very clingy so I had to carry him around a lot. He would be up from 2 to 5 - IN THE AM, PEOPLE. Anyway, that really exacerbated by separated stomach muscle pain and by Sunday, I was in bad shape. My sister had invited me a while back when I told her that R was going to be gone for 2 weeks in a row. By monday morning, the pain had gotten so bad that I could barely walk. I looked up tickets online and it was the same price it was 2 weeks ago. This was for a flight leaving in 2 hours and I jumped on it and started packing. That was one of the best decisions I made. I got a week of solid rest the likes of which I never had since the delivery. It was a lovely, peaceful time and honestly, the best gift I have ever received. I didn't even have to change one diaper or give him a bath. My sister and family fed, changed, and entertained him and all I did was eat and sleep and rest. I truly needed it the first two days. Once the muscle relaxants kicked in and the worst was over, I just got lazy. I am so blessed to have such loving family here and may the Lord account this to them for righteousness :)

3. You know what I love about Indian clothes? That they are mostly pretty. Love the colours, patterns, styles, there is plenty to love.



You know what I don't love? The fact that it bleeds. Yuck!

This, my friends, is the fourth wash water.



And because of that, it always needs to be handwashed. No, not a big fan. Guess I know what I am NOT wearing in the next two years.

4. We had our laundry room all redone and it looks great. It totally deserves a post of its own with before and after pictures. Except I don't think I have before pictures, but I will certainly take some after shots. After it is done that is.

5. I am so glad to finally have my own laptop again after giving my old one to mom. I was tired of having to beg, borrow and steal from R all the time.

6. I am loving the fall climate. Low 80s, high 70s, beautiful for morning and evening walks. I feel I am really missing out, the days I don't go for a walk.

7. Neil is going to be a tiger this Halloween. Neil is Indian American, tigers are native to India and Halloween is celebrated here in America. That is the complex thought process
by which we (by we I mean I, because R couldn't care less if he tried) decided he is going to be a tiger. I actually made this all up. Well, actually he is going to be a tiger, but that is because that was the only outfit below $10. But talking about tigers and India sounds a lot better than saying I am a cheapstake. Doesn't it?

Neils Birthday Party - The details

If you are coming over from Kelly's Korner, a warm welcome to you.


Neil had a party here in US for friends. A party in India (actually 2) and then one here for his first birthday. Someone asked me if he will have 6 parties for his 2nd birthday. :) Okay, so he is really spoilt. Anyway here is a detailed account of his party here so that I can remember it for later.

And yes, this post is really late, but better late than never. I started it a long time back. I have a host of perfectly excusable excuses, but the post is too long already, so you are spared.

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD

The is is the invitation that we made for the party.

Outside:



Inside:



R and I wrote the poem together and since the theme of the party was the book "Happy Birthday To You" by Dr Seuss, I had the book cover outside the invitation and the details inside. The colors I chose were yellow and red like the Birthday Bird in the book. Once I chose the colors, I went wild. ha ha.

The party was held at the chapel we attend, as there were too many people to accomodate in our home. The party was in 2 rooms. One was the foyer where people came in. At the entrance, I made some pom poms that we hung there.



We had the candy and smash cake table in the center of the foyer. I also made a fruit platter with his name spelled out. Three kids from church along with R, cut all the fruits and I thought it looked really nice. They did a great job.





At the back towards the wall was the monthly photos displayed. I did the craft for that and because I am an amateur when it comes to crafts, it took me a really long time to do it. But I loved doing it and I had such fun thinking it all out. I used his old food jars (when he used to eat jar food) and some tulle that my friend gave me. In yellow and red craft paper, I wrote out the best lines in the HBTY book for each month. Luckily for me, there were 12 lines and it all fit perfectly. The whole project cost less than $5 :) I obviously didn't buy the food for the jars. The jars were just lying around.



To the right of the entryway was a table with the guestbook, (a copy of Happy Birthday To You by Dr Seuss) some balloons, a red and yellow pom pom. The table had a white tablecloth with a red square cloth overlaid on it.



To the left of the entryway was the favors table for the kids. The favors were Dr Seuss pencils, pens, notepad, markers etc in red and yellow goody bags. I also had some small pouches available for the adults to take home the candy. For candy I had cherry slices, lemon drops and jordan almonds, all in red and yellow.



At the entrance of the hall where the main food and tables were, I hung the birthday banner I made for him. R helped with the hanging.



A closeup of the banner. It was easy peasy to make even for a super amateur like me.



The main hall of the church, which is actually a gymnasium is where we had the main food and the tables. I don't have a picture of the food, but we had Indian food (super mild) and lasagna for those who could not handle even that. Then there was chips and dip and chicken nugget for the kids and vegetable tray etc. Drinks were red fruit punch and lemonade consistent with the theme :)

The tables all had white tablecloths and I had vases filled with yellow and red Jordan almonds as centerpieces. Since the room was big and the tables were spread out, it was hard to get the yellow and red color scheme into that room. So, for that I had red and yellow helium balloons all touching the cieling. It really added some color to the room, but unforunately, there are no pictures.

I had made a video of his first year and had it running in the background. Some friends who made it for the party. You can see the video in the background and see the balloon strings from the ceiling :)



Here is a picture of the birthday boy digging into his cake. He hates the hat and is trying to get it out.



Life was a lot better once the hat was off.



Family shot.



The smash cake was from Publix (love the store btw) and there was another sheeetcake from Costco. He just smeared himself with the cake and I had to change him afterwards. I bought his monogrammed cupcake yellow outfit from etsy. I am a borderline addict of etsy now. :)

It was a really nice day and things went off well, especially with help from some people in the chapel. I am glad I was able to do this for Neil. I know he is not going to remember it and no, he is not going to have a huge party every year. It was fun to find the creative bone in my body and put together this for him.

This and that

I think I have two readers now and I don't blame people for not wanting to read my once in a month posting blog. Why the silence? I am not sure. I always think to myself, I really want to blog, but recently in my thoughts, I have learned to drop the really. Because if I really wanted to do it, I would find the time. Blogging for me is like exercising, I mean I like the end result, but actually finding the time to do it, I guess it keeps falling on the list of things to do at the end of the day. I want all the stars to be aligned to blog. Neil should be sleeping, the house should be tidy and quiet which means R should be sleeping as well, the laptop should be free etc. I should be in the mood and let us say, all these things happens once in a rare while like today. I often wonder how these moms of little ones blog on a regular basis. I am assuming that for those of them especially the ones who depend on the blog for revenue possibly see it as a job. I know for sure that it is one thing that I don't want. I have too many jobs as it is. :)

I was in India for 2 months and Neil turned one while we were there. My in-laws hosted a party while we were there and here is some cuteness.



He is not dancing, he was just reaching out for something. I love his outfit, but he hated when we tried to put it on him. After coming back, I had a party for him with all our friends here. I will post pictures of that separately. R was supposed to take those pictures, but he got busy talking to people and we ended up not having many of the pictures of the decorations and that makes me really sad. The theme was Dr Seuss book Happy Birthday To You. The book celebrates the uniqueness of a person and the tagline is "there is no one alive that is you-er than you." More on the party later.

Swimming lessons are not going swimmingly well (excuse the pun). He just screams for the whole duration of the class. He is just really mad that I leave him with the instructor. We are looking at a 2 day MDO program for Neil so he will have other kids to play with and I can get some things done here at home as well. I am just worried about all the screaming.

We are just getting back into the swing of things and there is always such a lot of things to do everyday. Recently, I read this post which really encouraged me. I read other blogs on my phone when I get some time here and there and it was really what I needed to read. R is very busy these days working from 8 to 9 with a lot of travel upcoming and it has been rough bearing the burden alone with a very clingy one year old who does not leave his clutch on my pants for most of the day. Physically it has been a strain too, carrying him as my weak stomach muscles are not helping. It is a good reminder to live in dependence on Christ remembering that I am never truly alone.

30 things for a 30 year old

I am turning 30 today. I thought I would list 30 things about myself. This is actually a result of some self analysis (doesn't that sound like shrink verbiage?) and there are some good stuff and some bad stuff areas of improvement. It is interesting that it was really hard to list the good stuff because, really, I cringed everytime I read it. However much I tried, it seems like boasting, but I have listed only things I have been told. The bad stuff are not things I have been told, but that I know to be true of myself. So here goes.

I

1. Am Hard working
2. Am Fiercely Loyal
3. Love making special memories for loved ones
4. Am generous
5. Get ready in no time
6. Am compassionate
7. Have good work ethic
8. Go over and beyond doing favors for people.
9. Have a sense of humor
10. Am frugal
11. Love all children
12. Am a good planner
13. Always rejoice at others happiness
14. Am good at atrranging a good time (travel etc) or our guests
15. Reasonably good cook who started from knowing absolutely nothing

On the other hand, I

1. Hold grudges
2. Finds it hard to forgive
3. Am impatient
4. Procrastinate
5. Get upset over small things
6. Am shy at parties
7. Am nervous about changes
8. Am opinionated
9. Am a rice addict
10. Do not do things consistently, am always falling off the wagon
11. Am very uncomfortable asking favors, making new contact, putting myself out there.
12. Find decision making hard
13. Am insecure about a lot of things
14. Am ungifted (is that even a word?) in domestic arts.
15. Am grumpy in the mornings.

12 months

Dear Neil,

You turned one. A short simple statement, yet I feel a lump in my throat when I think that. You took your first steps independently 4 days ago. And I suddenly realized what a big boy you were getting to be. It feels to me that you have changed incredibly in the last month. You are much more independent and interactive. We are in India now with your grandparents. I feel they are spoiling you, but I guess it is their privilege. My dad thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread and talks about you to everyone. He is one proud grandpa. We celebrated your birthday by having a brief time of prayer, a message from the Bible and lots and lots of food and cake. You enjoyed the time and attention and was totally in your element. This month you got to travel in a plane, bus, autorickshaw, boat, got to see lions up close and personal, and had a ton of fun new experiences. I know you are not going to remember any of that, but it gives me great pleasure to do all these stuff with you. You have already logged about 10,000 airline miles and you just turned one. :)Since you started to walk, you had a couple of tumbles, but you bore it manfully. I am sure I would have yelled more. You don't cry when you wake up from your nap and although it is a good thing, it was so difficult here as you would wake up and just crawl away and fall off the bed (if I let you). Now we sleep on the floor and that works out great. TV doesn't captivate you so far, toys don't entice you, all you want to do is explore everywhere.

You are very adjusting and I thank my Lord every time for that. There are no cranky fits unless you are hungry or sleepy or sick. I am getting better at understanding you and I can figure out what is going on much better now. Now that you have a better understanding, I get to play a lot of games with you and that is so much fun. Your Daddy could not be with us the day you turned one as he is still in US, but we are having another party with friends when we get back home.

I love you so much and I consider it a huge blessing from God that he gave us you to raise. Being your momma has changed me a lot and I am so thankful for that. I am not a perfect mom, I lose my patience easily, and it is daily hard work, but there is nothing else I'd rather do. You are our NATHANIEL, gift from God, prayed for, and really longed for.

My hands and heart are full today. I pray that God will give you long life, good health, and all of the heavenly blessings and in turn make you a blessing to many. While I know I cannot protect you from the harshness of this world, you can be assured that my prayers will follow you all the days of your life.

Love,
Mama

11 months

Dear Neil,

You are 11 months old now. I refuse to believe you are almost a year old. It is just not possible. I have to speak with whoever is in charge of the calendar. There must be some mistake.

What are you up to now?

1. Well, for starters, everything. You are into absolutely everything. You want to pull this, push that, jump off, crawl away. There is just no stopping you. I put you down, and next thing I see is a flash of leg and you are off. You put absolutely everything into your mouth and you pick up the tiniest particles on the ground. One day, we had to retrieve paper, and another day some leaves from your mouth and you were hopping mad about that.

2. You had two ear infections this month, one single and another double. It upsets me that you get sick so often but unfortunately you seem to follow the same pattern as your mommy.

3. You visited Washington DC and NY this month and it was fun to take you there. You are a good traveler and we hope you continue to be one.

4. You have 6 teeth now and you eat mildly spicy Indian food, stuff I make and it makes me so glad that you are a good eater. You chew well too and you are having all kinds of fun stuff now.

5. You hold your own bottle and drink and that is helpful as I can give you the bottle to drink in the morning as I prepare your breakfast.

6. You cruise around a lot and one day you stood with no support for about 10 seconds before falling flat on your bottom. Cruising is with one hand in style, it is just hilarious to see.

7. You are 22 lbs now and close to 50th percentile for weight. You have lost some weight due to all the crawling and cruising. You were quite chubby for a while there, but you were never meant to be plump, you come from lean parents.

8. Swimming is not going swimmingly well. You are still quite upset when the instructor takes you. You only come with me and I don't know swimming myself, so it is not working very well. After meeting a lot of people in India, I am hoping that your stranger anxiety might reduce a little bit and things will improve.

8. Daddy has a game he plays with you and I am not sure who enjoys it more, you or Daddy.You laugh loudly , shriek, jump on the bed and just get hyper. You are so fun now we could play with you all day long. You are happiest when we both play with you and give you attention.

9. You give hugs now and that is just about the best part of my day.

Daddy and I love you a lot. Some days are rough when you get a little cranky and won't nap and then get crankier. Even with that, I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

Love,
Mama

Update

It has been a while. To update my three readers, I am in Mumbai, India on a two month vacation. I traveled Business Class on my way here and that helped with the fact that I was on a 24 hour trip with a 11 month old by myself. That and the fact that so many of you prayed for me. Y'all are the best. It was great service and although I had to hold him on my lap the entire time, it was not as exhausting as it might have been. I had a connection to NJ and then it was a straight flight to India. On my first flight, there was an old lady sitting next to me and she was quite displeased to see that she got a seat next to a mom and baby. As soon as Neil and I were seated, she requested for a seat re-assignment. She had to sit next to me though, and I prayed that he would go to sleep. He did, the entire flight and it was such a relief. Ms Grouchy was pretty much scowling every time Neil made the slightest sound. He never cried, he was just making happy sounds. I have to say she has issues if she scowls when a baby makes happy albeit a little loud sounds. The second half was better thankfully.

Here is one thing I find curious and I thought I would put it out to the readers. Here in India, babies are just such a part of life that it is never really bothersome to anyone. Nobody makes a huge deal out of them either. (There are plenty to go around anyway!) When I was single and then later married, it never bothered me that a mom and baby was sitting next to me on a flight or train. My brow never creased the way peoples do here when they are seated next to a family. Of course, if the baby is crying incessantly from takeoff to landing for the entire duration of the flight, that is a different matter. What I am saying is, I do not automatically associate negativity to that situation. Here I have noticed people do. They may be nice to you to the face, but I can see it nevertheless. My opinion is that (and this may offend some of you), the society here is so darn individualistic that even the perception of inconvenience irritates people. And children are the victims, because they are inconvenient. Even the best behaved baby (and my child is not very bratty) will cry when hungry, wet, or dirty. I have to say Neil did great on the 15 hour (straight) flight except a little bit of crying when he threw up and had to be changed and later held by the air hostess while I changed. That was no more than 10 minutes at the most.

Here is my question to you. If you were on a flight (or any public place) with your small baby, have you felt the irritation of others? Or if you do not have children, do you cringe when seated next to a family?

I would love to hear your response.

PS: I have not had a chance to visit any blogs yet, as the internet is a little flaky, but I hope to, soon.

The weekend Recap

R was gone on a 4 day long unexpected work tour last week to Detroit. He came back on Friday and so it was a nice long weekend to anticipate. It was the first time Neil and I were by myself. I was nervous, but Neil did great and it was really nice. We went to Gymboree, played at home, went for hour long walks in the evening, went shopping and had a good time. I pretty much cooked one day and closed kitchen after that and subsisted on leftovers. I was surprised at the amount of time it freed up to do other things. I caught up on a lot of financial housekeeping tasks and attacked a pile of paperwork. So many things that were on my to do list got done one day when Neil took two good naps. These days such naps are a rare thing. He compensated for that the next day by taking hardly one nap. So there are good and not so good days. :) He played in his prison for a good long time and I took some videos couple of days back.

A funny thing happened while R was away. His office called and asked for our home address. Hubby mentioned that they might send him something for willing to be gone for a trip at such short notice. Wednesday, this arrived. I thought it was nice of the company to send him flowers.



Also I thought it was so strange that they would write "I love you" on the message card. Turns out, it was actually from hubby for me addressed to himself though(Just a mistake on his part). He told the story at work and everybody had a laugh at my expense. It was nice to have him back on Friday and we had a relaxed evening. Neil was so excited to see him but then was confused for a little bit. Most of Saturday morning, we played with him. Isn't that a fun expression? Wonder what he is thinking?



Then we played up and down. He loves that.



After that we gave him a haircut. This is the after:



We went to the church for an Independence Day picnic and then came home and relaxed. Today, we went to church, did some shopping and relaxed at home. We had been planning a laundry room makeover for a while and I wanted to do it before I left for India. So I hied myself to Lowes and got a tension rod and then a curtain from Walmart. At 9 pm, I decided that I needed to paint one side. And I did just that. I did two coats and it is not a great job, but I am glad I did it. It is a deep burgundy and tomorrow I plan to do another coat to make it look better. I have another area in the room to paint white and a couple of other things to do and it should be about 75% done. We are planning to put tile on the floor as well, but that won't be until September. The room was really bad looking and this is the way that we come in everyday as it is the connection room to the garage and the kitchen. And since I spend half of my life doing laundry, I thought it should be a cheery place. It is my very first attempt painting and I thought this was a low risk place to try :) Hope you all had a great weekend too and Happy Independence Day to all my American readers.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July from our little American.

Ten Months

Dear Neil,

You are 10 months today. Actually, that is not true. You are 10 months and 5 days today. We were traveling and I did not have computer access, so I am just posting it late. Right now you are playing inside your "prison" fence. You are doing good today. Usually you just cry for me to take you when you are there. Today I am surprised that you are sitting and playing. You are quite a big boy now! What is going on with you?

1. You have four big teeth and I think I can see two more coming. You drool incessantly which tells me that I might be right in my estimation. So far, by God's grace you never had any teething associated problems.

2. You don't like playing with your toys much. You prefer paper, plastic bottles, and stuff like that. What you like best doing when I put you in the fence is to stand there and bite the fence instead of playing with your truck or laptop or anything else. In a way it makes me feel glad we never bought you any toys. It would have just been a waste.

3. You are the funniest baby in the world! Two weeks before we were at Chilis and the music started playing and you started headbanging. It was the funniest thing ever and we took a video also. Also while we were at a bowling alley you started headbanging as well. We all had such a good laugh.

4. You are quite strong and this month you had a fall out of your crib. It made me feel like a horrible mama, but by God's grace you didn't even have a scrape. You go for Gymboree classes and the instructor said you have good upper body strength. I am really happy you are healthy, but that also means you are able to get out of everywhere and I have to watch you like a hawk all the time. There really are not a lot of safe places I can keep you.

5. When you are well rested in the mornings, you wake up and stand in your crib and smile and wave. It is the sweetest sight in the world. You have also returned to your snuggly self and wants to hug when you sleep.

6. You have also started expressing your personality and needs a little bit of disciplining. You understand NO very well and also are quite aware of things you should not be doing but do anyway.

7. You are learning swimming now and it is not going great. You do well in the water. The problem is that you are super attached to me and you will not go to the instructor. And since I don't know swimming, it is a problem and I am hoping that you will get used to sweet Miss Jill soon.

8. You traveled to NYC and DC this month. You are quite the traveler now. You did not do great on the flight there mainly because you were sick. All the travel made you worse and you developed an ear infection. You are doing much better now. I did not enjoy the trip to NY much since you were sick, but we had a blast with your aunt, uncle and cousins. They love you more than any baby should be loved and you were lapping up all the attention. Your cousins had bargaining every day on who gets to sit next to the car seat when we go out and you are a very blessed little boy!

9. Your grandparents also were there for a few days this month and you warmed up fast to them. You loved picking your granddad's glasses, and pulling his whiskers and nibbling his ear. He calls you his second son, the first being your dad.

10. It is a challenge changing your diaper and we are working on it. You and I are going on a very long flight in less than a month and it wouldn't do to have you trying to leap off the changing table and hanging upside down with me holding on to your leg when we are 32,000 feet in the air.

11. Your Appacha and Ammachy and uncle are waiting eagerly to see you. I can't wait to take you there as well. I just hope you don't get sick there. But I know that God is watching over you and takes better care of you than this mama ever could.

12. Mommy is planning your first birthday party. I should have you know that I have not one creative bone in my body, so it should be challenging. I just want to have fun doing it because I want to celebrate you.

Were you not always there with us? I can't imagine a time without you. Now since you are so interactive, it is just boatloads of fun having you around. You are just getting ridiculously cuter everyday. I have no idea how you manage to do that. Your Dada is going to miss you bad while we are in India.

Love,
Mamma

Humbled

I was working on my laptop and my baby was on the floor. Then he saw me and started crawling towards me with lightning speed. I thought "Oh my darling sweet wittle itty bitty darling baby pumpkin ball is coming to mama because he loves me so much and wants to be close to me"

And then he went straight for the laptop wire.

Humbled.

Mother's Day Drama Part 2

See Part 1 here

So the drama had just begun.

I took off my white shirt as the patch would not wash off, and I was so thankful to have the camisole under. So we were out of wipes and I opened the diaper bag to get his diaper and found out that I HAD NONE. Yes, there were no diapers in the bag. I had changed one already and somehow in all the hurry, I had forgotten to put in an additional one. (I always carry 2). I could not believe myself. I looked again, and nothing appeared magically. R said that we might as well put some clothes and cover him with a blanket, and rush to the flight to get a diaper from our carry on. So I wrapped him up in a blanket and carried him to the gate. I prayed hard that he wouldn't pee while I had him that way. It is cold in the airport and he always pees in the two seconds I do a diaper change for him at home. God heard the prayers of a desperate mama and he didn't pee all that time he was diaperless.

So we went to the gate and guess what happened?

OUR PLANE HAD TAKEN OFF.

With our carry on bags containing clothes for me and him, diapers, formula, food, laptop, toys (on the seat), coats (we were coming from cold Portland). All we had with us were both our wallets (PTL), R's work laptop and a diaper bag (without any diapers).

We were stuck in Utah.

I think we will remember for the rest of our lives what happened after that. We laughed. At the situation. I am in my camisole and jeans (I am not used to being in public with just a cami for a top), my son is without a diaper and clothes, covered in a blanket, we have no food for him, and the whole situation was just ridiculous. We walked around the shops a little bit looking for a diaper, but had no luck. Finally, the Delta rep got us some diapers and so at least, we were past the danger of being peed on any minute.

And they said that there were no flights going out that day and we had to stay over at a hotel. We selected the Plaza downtown. Because when life give you lemons, you make lemonade. It was really nice and the shuttle guy upon hearing our story offered to take us free to Walmart and then dropped us off at a nice place for dinner and picked us back up. May it be accounted to him for righteousness :)

Delta had given us some necessities in a small kit and there was an over sized tee shirt in that. I wore that all evening and Neil had a pant that I found in his diaper bag and the rest I covered him in a blanket. We had to take a train part of the way to get to Walmart. We looked like illegal immigrants. We were joking about something and walking. I am sure parents must have told their kids "We may be driving an old car and eat beans and rice most days, but at least we are better off than that poor family who cannot even afford clothes for themselves. Yet, look how happy they are." ha.

I bought some clothes, formula and other necessities from Walmart. My dress was too small, R's shorts was too big, but at least Neil's clothes fit. I tried on my dress and I looked totally inappropriate. The tank top in comparison looked modest. I never wore it, but returned it here. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant called J-Wong and it was the best Chinese food we ever had.

Early morning, we had our flight back, and this time we made it home without incident. And praise God, we got our laptop, check in in bag, carry on bags, and our coats. We only lost one of his toys and Neil's coat (which were on the seat). Better his coat than mine. Mine was $100, his was only $2.50. And it is not like he needs a coat in 120 degree weather. And by the time he needs one, he would have outgrown it anyway.

And that is how my first Mother's day went down. Very very humbling. Made as many mistakes a mom could possibly make.

Two things made it all still okay.

I am married to a wonderful man. All through the ordeal, not one accusation, no finger pointing. Just got through it together as best as we could.

Neil was such a trooper through the entire thing. In the airport, he went to sleep in my arms in the blanket. He made hardly any fuss. How precious is a child's trust! He knows that wherever he is or whatever the circumstances, as long as he is in the parents care, all is well with the world. If only I had the same trust in my heavenly father, how better would life be!

Errand Day

Today was Errand Day.

There was our van registration renewal to be done. So after Neil's morning nap, instead of Music at Gymboree we both set out to take care of that.

While we were getting out of the van, Neil had a small tumble inside the van and has a boo boo on his face. He cried of course but calmed down as soon as I picked him up and soothed him. I was feeling terrible the entire time. It was a 1 second oversight on my part and I am really not happy at myself. He is okay now.

Since we were there, I figured we would go to Fresh Market and get some organic veggies and fruits for Neil. We don't have any close to our home and I get them when and where I can.

There wasn't much selection today and I bought some yams and watermelon.

Then we went to Costco to return an outfit for Neil and bought couple more. He actually waited patiently. Dare I say he is getting better at not having a meltdown while shopping? Maybe we have turned a corner. It is hard to say though. We were in all these shops for less than 10 minutes. Nevertheless, it is a great improvement.

I had planned on stopping at Walmart also to return some stuff, but one look at his tired face and I decided against it. Actually, I was pretty tired as well by then. I came home, took care of some tasks, did laundry etc while Neil took a 2.5 hour nap. All the excitement tired him out I think.

He woke up at 5:45 and I knew I was in trouble getting him to sleep at night as he slept close to 4 hours in the daytime. I fed him carrots, peas, and cheese and fed him a bottle and started cooking dinner. Earlier, he used to sit in the stroller and watch me cook. Sometimes I would give him a toy to play with, but often he would just sit there and we would talk and sing and just have fun. Well, those days are over. Today he was trying to stand in the stroller. He basically hung upside down and was doing all kinds of gymnastics. I just did the cooking very fast and took him up and got him ready for bed after his night time ritual. After that, we went to the library checked out some movies and books and came home. I was hoping that he would go to sleep in the car, but he was still wide awake when I got home.

I ate dinner, fed him another bottle and finally he went to sleep at 10 pm.

Nothing really exciting (except for the fall), a pretty normal day for mom and baby.

It has been a while since a list

I haven't posted in ever. I know. That is how I start every post I write once a month. I have not even posted Part 2 of the Mother's Day drama. That will have to wait. Today I feel like making a list.

1. Neil is army crawling everywhere and pulling himself up and even cruising a little. So we made him a prison fence and he will stay inside there as long as I am inside with him. When I get out of there he stands on holding on to it and either cries or watches me like a spider watches his prey making sure I don't move from his line of sight. Attached much?

2. He is so interactive now and in my completely biased opinion very intelligent and observant. He looks like he listens so carefully when I talk. He probably is thinking when he is getting the next food :)

3. Speaking of food, I make all his food at home now and I actually am enjoying it and so is he. We tried such a wide variety of foods and he eats everything I give him. Peas are not his best friend, but he still will eat it. We even tried Indian food with spices on it and it was all good. He has been sleeping through the night past couple of days. Now because I wrote it he will get up 12 times tonight, I am sure.

4. I have enrolled Neil for swimming and Gymboree for summer and he is enjoying Gymboree. Swimming will start next week and I can't wait to see how he will do with that.

5. My weight loss program is going well thanks to chasing Neil all around the house. I am at 109.5 now, but the big tummy will be with me till I die, I think.

6. I want to know how these women who have 3 children under 5 with another on the way manage to home school, cook from scratch, coupon, and then blog all about it every day. I must be a horrible time manager or something. I can barely keep my house clutter free with one child.

7. Things have been so busy the past weeks. I work part time from home. I make all ours and baby food from scratch. Except couple of times a week that we eat out. And I take care of Neil. And help hubby with his business. And take care of all the "stuff." - bills, immigration and all the sundry stuff. And how you know some weeks everything comes to a head at the same time? Last two weeks were like that. And plus, we have my in-laws visiting and I have been making some travel arrangements for all of us.

8. Speaking of travel, we have a lot of travel coming up this summer. We are going for a week to DC-NY and then Neil and I are going to India for 2 months. I am SO looking forward to that. The India trip that is. I need a break.

9. My sweet husband booked me on first class for the India trip since I am going with Neil and do not have any help. I know it is a luxury and he is so sweet to do that! I am not even making any real financial contribution to the household since Neil was born.

10. It is so hot here in FL and the main reason I joined Neil for Gym and swimming is that we need something to do as we cannot go to a park or something in the morning when it is 110 degrees outside. Plus it is great as he gets tired out and takes good naps after that. I am an evil mom :)

11. We are doing some work on the house. Our laundry room was redone a little bit and I hope to show some before and after pictures soon. Soon as in it could be never to those who have been reading my blog for any length of time.

12. I think I am done making a list.

9 month appointment

Today was Neil's 9 month appointment. He is doing well, prasie God. Today morning he had one egg and 2 ounces of squash sweet poato mix. He was quite happy and we set off to the doctor's office. We got there and the receptionist said: "You still don't have insurance, right?" I told her that we always had insurance and all the information is in their system. She then pulled up our records and said she was sorry and that she had it on file blah blah and our copayment is $10. I was surprised because so far all the copayments had been close to $70. She had pulled up our old insurance. This scenario happens every time. I love our pediatrician, but the staff is really incompetent. Finally she managed to pull up the information and we ended up not having to pay anything as it was a well visit.

I was waiting in the room for the doctor when suddenly without warning, Neil threw up all over then blanket covering him. He has GER and I thought it was the perfect way to show the doctor this is how it was most days for us. Anyway, the doctor came in and we were talking at that time, Neil again vomited all over the table, on me, and himself. He started crying loudly at would not lie down for us to clean him up or change his diaper. He was sobbing for so long and would not be comforted even after I picked him up. The doctor hurriedly examined him and he was yelling throughout. It really upset me too. He is a happy baby and tolerates pain very well and so I knew that something was bothering him a lot. He was also very sleepy by that point. So I fed him a little and he then he threw that up as well. Finally, he went to sleep and I had thought by this point that we would go back and come another day for his shots. I figured since the shots were part of his well visit, I wouldn't have to pay anything to have it administered. I confirmed with the head nurse and she said we can come back and get it next Tuesday free of charge. So I was making my one year appointment, and that nurse said I can come back and get it, but we will have to pay out of pocket for that.

He had completely calmed down by then and was in my arms half asleep. With all that was going on, I was getting irritated at this point, and told her that I will go ahead and get him the shots then. I know my son and I knew that at this point he would be okay with it. We are going to India in a couple of months and we were behind on the shots, plus we had to make another nurse visit to catch up before his 1year well visit. I thought about all this and decided to go ahead. The head nurse sighed colossaly as if I was a big troublemaker and a horible mommy to boot for giving him his shots when he was upset. Anyway, as I had thought, he cried for 2 seconds when the needle went in and when I picked him up, he turned around and went back to sleep. We got home around 11:45 without incident and he has been sleeping since.

I am not giving him any more solids today, but am just going to give him milk and see how he does. I am drained by the morning happenings. Not just the vomiting, but also the nurses' attitude. I think he is waking up now and is making happy sounds. My sweet baby. It has been hard with his reflux problems. And it is harder as a mom to see your child suffering and being unable to comfort or Do much to ease it. Also, it is really hard to see other people making judgements on informed decisions we make for our baby.

Nine Months

Dear Neil,

You are 9 months old today! You have been outside my tummy for as long as you were inside!! In 3 months, you will be a year old. Where has the time gone? Your dad and I were looking at some of your older pictures and laughing and sighing. The sighing would be me, your dad can't wait for you to be 3 years old.



Look at this one. All the baby fat!!!



How much you have changed. And I know you will keep changing every day.

What are you upto now?

1) Today was as if you changed overnight. Till yesterday, you were content to sit at least for a few minutes and play with your toys. Today, as soon as I put you on the floor, you just started crawling like a man on a mission. The mission being our slippers, magazines under the table, laptop wires, and everything you could get your paws on. Nothing is safe in the house anymore! Crawling is not with your body completely off the floor, but is not scooting either. It is quite cute to see.

2) You had your first airplane ride to Portland, OR. That is where our family began. We took you to the place your dad and I got married, and you met a lot of friends there. You did great on the flight and it was a long flight too! It was such fun traveling with you. We had a bit of a misadventure coming back, but it was all fine and you were such a trooper through it all. It is a good thing because you are born into a family who loves to travel and God willing, there will be a lot of traveling in the future for you continuing with a trip to DC-NY followed by a 24 hour trip to India in July.





3) You have your third tooth (first upper) coming in. Your bottom two are nice and big now and it is so cute to see you smile.

4) You eat your food like the little man you are. You do not take kindly to store bought food since I started cooking for you. This was a struggle when we were in Portland and I am so glad that you got back to eating well again.

5) You still don't sleep through the night and gets up at least once.

6) You haven't quite mastered the pincer grasp yet and so the couple of times that I tried to feed you finger foods didn't go over very well.

7) Shopping is still a no no, but walks are great.

8) Unless you are sleepy or hurt, you don't like to sit and cuddle as much. You squirm away and want to explore everything. You have such a lot of energy! I wish I had half as much!!!

9)Maybe because you are so mobile, you are not putting on as much weight, but you seem to be growing well. We are very thankful for that.

You bring so much joy to us. At the end of the day, I sometimes lay in bed and think about how much you have added to our lives with your sweet and vivid personality. It is hard for me to think of the time when you were not around. It is so wonderful to watch you grow and interact with the world around you and see your personality come out.

I love you.
Mama

Mother's Day Drama Part 1

I had the most unbelievable Mother's day ever. My first one with the baby OUTSIDE the tummy. It should have been a lot better. Even if you are an occassional reader of the blog and skip through some posts, you should read this. Worse travel stories would be few and far between.

We had a "straight flight" form Portland, OR to Orlando. I put that in quotes because there was a stop over at Salt Lake City, UT. To begin at the beginning, our flight from Portland was at 1:30 pm (or so I thought) and so we left at 11:30 am. R was working till the last minute and so I had to load the stuff, baby, and make sure that nothing was left behind. Thankfully we made it to the airport at 12:10 pm with overflowing check in, carry on and diaper bag. R went with the baby to return the rental car and and I lugged in the heavy check in suitcase lifted it to weigh it. It was 2 lb overweight, they let it go anyway. Then again I had to lug it to the X ray machine and then finally it was on its way. The TSA asked me if the suitcase is locked and I said it is not and there is only a bunch of dirty baby laundry. They all smiled. So after all the lugging and pulling (my biceps and triceps have never looked better!) I stopped for a minute to catch my breath and take a look at the boarding pass. It was 12:40 by then and that is when I saw that our flight was NOT at 1:30, but it was 1:03. So it is not just that I had lost some brain cells with the delivery, I had developed mild dyslexia too. So I called R frantically and he said they are on the way. I walked to the security and since I had both the boarding passes, I did not want to check in and then come back out to give R his. Finally he came and we all got in. They took all the formula and baby food to check for explosives. Becasue that is what I feed him. Although one would wonder if they saw his diaper 3 hours later. So finally we were on our way with our non explosive baby food and formula and boarded the plane. And the aircraft door closed behind us. One would wonder at the sanity of this kind of traveling especially with a baby in tow. But this is our life, and I seem unable to change any of this. It is all written in the stars, it is destiny, or maybe it is that we should just get out of the house earlier and pack less.

We had 3 seats to ourselves as the person next to us didn't show up. Or maybe they did and saw a cranky baby and asked for a reassignment of the seat. I was very pleased though. Neil was okay as soon as I fed him some milk. He is just sweet like that. The plane landed at SLC and we figured we will get out and get a bite to eat and change Neil's diaper. After the diaper change, we headed for something to eat. Our continuing flight was at 5 pm. My phone said 3:15 and I figured there was time enough to eat. We got Sbarros and was almost done eating when I noticed a bright green patch on my bright white shirt. Neil had been sitting on the high chair, but I had picked him up and was holding him since he had started crying. Well, when I checked him, I found that he had the most explosive diaper EVER and had got it on me, himself, his hands, both of our clothes and oh my word, it was a disgusting mess.

So we walked to the nearest family restroom as there was no way I could clean both of us on my own. There was someone inside, and we waited. And waited. And waited. No one was coming out. I figured it was a large family with lot of kids and all of them wanted to go potty or something. I was getting impatient by the minute and kept ringing the bell. After 15 minutes (an eternity) later, the door opened. AND A SINGLE GUY WALKED OUT. I was speechless. I would have said something, but I really was speechless. Maybe there is a charitable explanation for a single guy using a FAMILY restroom, but I can't think of any. If you do, please shout out in the comments. We got inside and started cleaning up. We ran out of wipes in the end (we must have used at least 15), but we made do with paper towels in the end. By the time he was clean anyway. I cleaned myself as best as I could and took off my white shirt. Thankfully, I had a white tank top underneath and I figured that would do until I get to the carry on in the plane where I could find myself another top.

Well, the drama was just starting.

To be continued tomorrow.